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As the Razor proceeded to rendezvous with the Alliance Fleet, the Motivator jumped out of hyperspace and deployed squadrons of TIE Fighters. The timely appearance of Rebel fighter squadrons and the Redemption turned the tide around, and an attack on the Star Destroyer commenced.

While Redemption traded fire with the Star Destroyer, Rogue Squadron's three flights disabled its major batteries and engaged its TIE fighters. After the Motivator's shield generators had been disabled by damage to its main reactor, it prepared to jump into hyperspace with Razor safely tucked in its main hangar. In a desperate act, Wedge Antilles was able to destroy the bridge, forcing the Star Destroyer into a dive to the surface.

As the Star Destroyer crashed into the surface, an Alliance GR-75 transport carrying Crix Madine and a company of soldiers arrived to secure Razor's computer core. Rogue Squadron escorted the transport to the crash site and was surprised to find a portion of the Star Destroyer's ground forces had survived the crash. While arriving at the crash site, Madine reported that they have detected increasing temperatures in the Star Destroyer's core due to the damage it has already sustained, meaning that it will only be a matter of minutes before the core goes critical. As they were unwilling to risk their transport to get the data, the strike team was forced to land the transport.

Still operational AT-ATs and AT-PTs blasted their way through the Star Destroyer's hull and began to attack the rebel transport. As reinforcements arrived in the orbital battle, Madine and the Rogues were time pressed to upload the data. While Rogue Squadron provided covering fire and targeted the armored vehicles, Madine and his commandos engaged in a firefight with Stormtroopers and their E-web blaster nests. After neutralizing any remaining functional batteries and destroying the Imperial armor, Rogue Squadron covered Madine's charge to the Star Destroyer.

Madine succeeded in retrieving the data from Razor, returned to his transport and fled Kothlis while Rogue Squadron engaged pursuing TIE fighters. Madine and his team finished decoding the data and realized why the Empire wanted it so badly—it was the technical readout for the second Death Star.

The Motivator first mentioned in the Galaxywide NewsNets feature for issue number 10 of the first volume of Star Wars Journal, where it stated a bit of its history. Its role was later expanded in Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader, where it was revealed to have been involved in trying to stop the Rebels from gaining the schematics for the Death Star II by capturing the Razor, as well as eventually being shot down by Rogue Squadron over Kothlis, and its wreck was later infiltrated by the Rebels to recover the data as the ship was going critical.

If the player managed to take out its ion cannons during the mission "Razor Rendezvous," its next appearance from "Vengeance of Kothlis" will have the ion cannons being damaged, thus making it slightly easier for the player to get through the mission.